spi ral
by Just Lovely
Summary: AU. A Drabble!Series. Like every other wall, she blended in. With every other ray of sunshine, she bloomed.  Warning: may contain slight OOC-ness!
1. wallflower

A Drabble!Series

**Disclaimer: **not mine

_Dedication: _to everyone, and anyone, who has ever felt fear and confinement, ever felt used, ever felt invisible, ever felt anything but normal.

_spi ral_

**By: _Just Lovely._**

o1.

wall-flower

She was a little thing. Lithe and light like a butterfly, but washed dry and white. Her face was like a doll's, heart-shaped and rosy but oh so fragile and breakable like glass. She was Hyuuga Hinata – one of many who faded into the shadows.

She was there, but she wasn't quite seen, nor heard, nor acknowledged.

She sat at the library desk, alone but comfortable, head bent over her artwork on the desk, indigo hair falling over her shoulder. This was the morning part of her everyday routine, part one out of many other consistent, repetitive parts; like a broken record playing the same song over and over. She never fell away from routine.

She sat quiet; always quiet, silent, not talking; but listening.

She sat still; not moving, not disturbing, statue-like – but watching.

Hinata was the _(wall)_ flower that no one bothered to stop and look at.

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><p><em>.<em>

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I'm very very proud of this, actually, surprisingly. It was, to say the least, a little personal to me, and I felt like it was important, thus the story based upon it.

**Tell me your thoughts!**


	2. dream catcher

A Drabble!Series

**Disclaimer: **not mine

_Dedication: _to everyone, and anyone, who has ever felt fear and confinement, ever felt used, ever felt invisible, ever felt anything but normal.

_spi ral_

**By: _Just Lovely._**

o2.

dream catcher

Hinata had the dream again. The one that woke her up smiling delightfully, her mind abuzz with happiness, ears tingling with soft words. And then she let her pale opal eyes slide around her surroundings. Her smile slipped off and reality came crashing down on her.

Hinata once thought the world was beautiful. A colourful canvas, shimmering like a rainbow, streaking like lightning. But that was _before_ her father talked to her. That was _after_ her mother's death. That was _before_ everything went wrong.

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Hinata was six. Six years old, six years of age; six.

Her family lost money that year; not a little, but a lot. They moved from the _(Hyuuga)_ Manor into a smaller home; two bedrooms, one bathroom, a kitchen and a living/dining room. It was a little small, a little quaint, but alright.

Her little sister, Hanabi, was two years old. She lived on the bed next to Hinata's and dreamed of pretty pictures. She woke up crying from a dream, one night, soon prompting their mother to come. And then, suddenly, their mother coughed blood, her hand covering blood-stained lips from innocent eyes. _"Don't tell your father, darlings,"_ she'd whispered and then went to wash up. Hinata knew what had happened. And then her mama died. And then the family picture shattered.

Hinata wanted her mama back, Hinata wanted her family fixed; Hinata wanted things that she couldn't have.

Hanabi sat down, one day, her dolls in her small toddler hands as she made small incoherent words from a tiny pair of pink lips. Their father wanted to talk to her, he'd said, _"Come here Hinata,"_ and Hinata had picked up her little sister and obliged, sitting in the chair in front of her father, Hiashi.

"_You need to remember that your mother isn't coming back. So don't tell me to go get her, don't tell me you can hear her at the door. Don't believe such far-fetched things."_ he'd said to her, his strong, stern hands on her small shoulders, shaking her back and forth, the information jumbling inside her.

Hinata nodded, not even sure she understood what he'd said; but that was okay, he'd said 'don't' and Hinata knew what that meant, at least.

Her father left her in the chair, tears in his eyes and oblivious Hanabi cradled in his arms.

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><p><p>

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I'm very very proud of this, actually, surprisingly. It was, to say the least, a little personal to me, and I felt like it was important, thus the story based upon it.

**Tell me your thoughts!**


	3. imprint

A Drabble!Series

**Disclaimer: **not mine

_Dedication: _to everyone, and anyone, who has ever felt fear and confinement, ever felt used, ever felt invisible, ever felt anything but normal.

_spi ral_

**By: _Just Lovely._**

o3.

imprint

He had come up to her one day. And for a moment, Hinata had thought it was because she was in his seat. It wasn't.

He asked her for her name. She answered, barely audibly.

He had given her a grin, wide and stretched, all natural. "Well, Hinata, could I sit in this chair," he paused, then, "if that's alright with you."

Hinata nodded and let him have the chair diagonal from hers across the rectangular library desk. He sat down and placed his books carefully on the table, the pile wobbly but still, miraculously, standing upright.

"Oh, and I'm Naruto. Uzumaki Naruto," he added, his cerulean eyes smiling at her.

She nodded in response before bending back down to her piece.

There was a stagnant pause, silence following in place of words before he spoke again and Hinata couldn't do anything but listen.

"So that's your thing huh?"

"...my what?"

"Your art. It's your thing," Naruto repeated. "Your trademark? Your imprint?"

Hinata stared at him for a long time before replying. "Not really." she said quietly, "My imprint, is much more non-existent, like a wall-flower."

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><p><p>

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I'm very very proud of this, actually, surprisingly. It was, to say the least, a little personal to me, and I felt like it was important, thus the story based upon it.

**Tell me your thoughts!**


	4. inked wings

A Drabble!Series

**Disclaimer: **not mine

_Dedication: _to everyone, and anyone, who has ever felt fear and confinement, ever felt used, ever felt invisible, ever felt anything but normal.

_spi ral_

**By: _Just Lovely._**

o4.

inked wings

Naruto still pondered over her answer, much like he – constantly – pondered over her.

Hinata didn't understand his question. The context of it was purely ludicrous because there was only one answer – _are you okay? _ – she wasn't bad nor was she good, but in-between.

"Yes, I'm okay." she responded.

Naruto looked doubtful at her, his pinned gaze long and steady before finally relenting.

He had caught her five times that day. In one week, he had worked through Hinata's entire schedule, perfectly in tune with her specific times, from classes to her arrival and departure to and from school, to her instrument practices.

Morning, in-between period A and B, before lunch and after (he disappeared during the hour), in-between period C and D; and now.

Naruto stood squarely in front of Hinata, his body blocking the doorway as students pushed past them both. Some called out to the blond and he nodded, a thin-lipped smile sent toward them but his eyes never meeting theirs.

"Are you alright?"

Hinata nodded and made to move around him, he stopped her and with a hand held firmly around her wrist; Naruto led her out and around to the parking lot.

"Do you want to go somewhere?" he asked, his voice gentle, letting her pick, decide, choose, to be somewhere other than the confinement of her schedule.

"Home."

Naruto glanced at her, a pointed look before unlocking the doors and gesturing for her to get in. "Where – "

Hinata interrupted and gave him the directions, her eyes never looking at him.

He didn't start the engine, his keys clanging in the ignition as finally, she turned to face him.

Naruto made sure he had her attention before speaking. "Are you sure?"

"Ye – "

"Never mind," he cut in, the engine grumbling as the car lurched forward and trees began to past by.

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><p><p>

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I'm very very proud of this, actually, surprisingly. It was, to say the least, a little personal to me, and I felt like it was important, thus the story based upon it.

**Tell me your thoughts!**


	5. cameraclick

A Drabble!Series

**Disclaimer: **not mine

_Dedication: _to everyone, and anyone, who has ever felt fear and confinement, ever felt used, ever felt invisible, ever felt anything but normal.

_spi ral_

**By: _Just Lovely._**

o5.

camera-click

Hinata's locker was neat, pin tight organized and straight. It was a bleak, colour-less sight.

Naruto was taken back. "Your locker is so... _plain_." he announced.

She glanced over at him, "Should it not be?"

"No. It shouldn't be," the blond shook his head, "but it can easily be taken care of." he grinned.

Hinata stared at him for a moment before closing and clicking her locker shut. "No."

"But you haven't even hear – "

"No." and that was the end of the conversation.

Naruto had to say, he didn't quite understand Hinata, not really. She seemed like an eighty-nine-year-old woman stuck in a teenager's body. She had a lack of everything, like she had skipped right to her late teenage years, forgetting or losing her adventure childhood, her memories of fun and creativity. The worry ate at him, even as he lifted a camera up to his eye and clicked – the glossed picture processing and popping out.

Hinata looked too beautiful to be broken.

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><p><em>.<em>

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I'm very very proud of this, actually, surprisingly. It was, to say the least, a little personal to me, and I felt like it was important, thus the story based upon it.

**Tell me your thoughts!**


	6. butterfly stutters

A Drabble!Series

**Disclaimer: **not mine

_Dedication: _to everyone, and anyone, who has ever felt fear and confinement, ever felt used, ever felt invisible, ever felt anything but normal.

_spi ral_

**By: _Just Lovely._**

o6.

butterfly stutters

"You're good." Naruto announced, leaning against the piano.

Hinata stopped, her fingers falling slack against the black and white keys as her eyes travelled from the music sheets to his face. The melody hung a second longer in the air before disappearing, her serenity along with it.

"What are you doing here?"

The blond blinked. "I was just walking by, when I saw the music class door open and heard you play."

She slowly shook her head and gathered the sheets together, pulling them to her chest.

Naruto wasn't deterred by her closed off attitude. "You should play more often. Maybe join the school band; you're good, Hinata, and you shouldn't hide it."

She felt heat rise to her cheeks at the compliment, shaking her head at him again as she exited the room.

...-...

Hinata felt her heart jump, thudding loudly in her chest as she stared at the metal adjacent to her. It wasn't the same locker door, not with every inch of the cool surface hiding behind tape curls and print out coloured pictures, some glossy as they hit the ceiling light and some not.

"If I didn't know any better, I would have thought this was some stalker's doing." she said, leaning back on the heels of her shoes.

"So you like it?" Naruto asked, an eager tone to his voice as he ignored her stalker comment.

Hinata shrugged, her concentration focused on the gloss of a picture, the figure distant but her familiarity with it still intact. The girl looked sad.

Hinata plucked the photo down just as Naruto leaned over to close the door for her, talking animately as he draped an arm over her lithe shoulders.

The image was an idle reminder in her fingers as she lost herself in his words.

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><p><em>.<em>

_._

_._

I'm very very proud of this, actually, surprisingly. It was, to say the least, a little personal to me, and I felt like it was important, thus the story based upon it.

**Tell me your thoughts!**


	7. wishful thinking

A Drabble!Series

**Disclaimer: **not mine

_Dedication: _to everyone, and anyone, who has ever felt fear and confinement, ever felt used, ever felt invisible, ever felt anything but normal.

_spi ral_

**By: _Just Lovely._**

o7.

wishful thinking

Whatever was happening between her and Naruto finally made Hinata stop and think. Because it felt too imaginative being with him, too much impossible and not enough possible, it made her wonder how she was ever noticed from one face hidden behind a hundred others. It made her think it was superficial. After all, Hinata didn't believe in things that were too good to be true. It was too rich and desirable to be any good.

She took the pictures down; tied an elastic around the bundle, the picture at the front the same one in her fingers so long ago – _of her out-of-place self_ – and let it fall with a thud at the dusty bottom of her locker. And then she proceeded to ignore him, falling away back to the shadows where she was good at hiding.

If there was one game Hinata was good at, it was Hide n' Seek. Where the Seeker never _(ever)_ found Hinata.

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><p><em>.<em>

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I'm very very proud of this, actually, surprisingly. It was, to say the least, a little personal to me, and I felt like it was important, thus the story based upon it.

**Tell me your thoughts!**


	8. pretentious echo

A Drabble!Series

**Disclaimer: **not mine

_Dedication: _to everyone, and anyone, who has ever felt fear and confinement, ever felt used, ever felt invisible, ever felt anything but normal.

_spi ral_

**By: _Just Lovely._**

o8.

pretentious echo

He caught on fast – he called her on it too.

Hinata could hear the confused fury in his voice, the question he was asking, again. "Hinata, _are you okay_?"

She let herself stare at him, watching different emotions flicker onto his face like a slideshow. She contemplated lying to him, because maybe that would make things easier; but then again, Naruto wasn't totally blind, not like everyone else.

When she didn't answer, Naruto took initiative. "What's wrong?"

Hinata turned away from him, pulling, inching, away as far as she could without him needing to pull her back.

"Why are you ignoring me? I can't help you if you don't tell me what's wrong. I can't... tell me what's scaring you."

She felt the words stumble on her tongue, incoherent, and then she let the two fall, one after the other. "You are."

He was surprised, his cerulean eyes widening a fraction as he let his grip on her hands slacken, but he kept a hold on her. "How am I scaring you?"

"Why do you talk to me? Why do you ask such _unimportant_ questions? Why, do you make me feel this way?"

A smile bloomed, suddenly, on his lips and she stared back at him, thinking he had taken a liking to the twist.

"I care, that's why."

He drew her into his arms and she felt the strength and security in his embrace, the soft consoling comfort of his voice in her ear, his cheek – tanned and smooth – warm against her temple.

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><p><em>.<em>

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I'm very very proud of this, actually, surprisingly. It was, to say the least, a little personal to me, and I felt like it was important, thus the story based upon it.

**Tell me your thoughts!**


	9. badaboom

A Drabble!Series

**Disclaimer: **not mine

_Dedication: _to everyone, and anyone, who has ever felt fear and confinement, ever felt used, ever felt invisible, ever felt anything but normal.

_spi ral_

**By: _Just Lovely._**

o9.

bada-boom

Hinata was still thinking, still worrying, but that was only when Naruto wasn't around. So, she hardly worried about it at all.

Naruto was still digesting it, still thinking and remembering; it was clear as glass in his mind.

...-...

"Do you remember, that time we first met and I was talking about imprints?" Naruto asked her.

Hinata looked over at him and carefully put down her lunch. She placed her hands in her lap, "Yes," she said slowly.

"You said, your imprint was... non-existent, like a wall-flower..."

"Where are you going with this, Naruto?"

"I just... want to know what you think about it now. Is your imprint in life still like a wall-flower?"

Hinata tilted her head to the sky, thinking. "I think I'm still hiding; just not so close to the wall now." she said softly.

Naruto watched her, nodding quietly. He could see a warm glow in her eyes that wasn't there before, _hadn't_ been there before. He was glad he could see her leaning out from the cover of the wall and into the sunlight.

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><p><em>.<em>

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I'm very very proud of this, actually, surprisingly. It was, to say the least, a little personal to me, and I felt like it was important, thus the story based upon it.

**Tell me your thoughts!**


	10. rising grace

A Drabble!Series

**Disclaimer: **not mine

_Dedication: _to everyone, and anyone, who has ever felt fear and confinement, ever felt used, ever felt invisible, ever felt anything but normal.

_spi ral_

**By: _Just Lovely._**

1o.

rising grace

Hinata found everything much more different, much more enlightening, it was comfortable. When she joined the school band, when she played a solo piece in the annual concert, when she laughed at a joke, when she smiled in encouragement.

"You see that, they're looking at _you_ Hinata." Naruto whispered, albeit loudly, a smile wide on his lips.

She saw it, she saw it directly and sideways, she saw it this way and that; she saw it and it felt warm.

...-...

She socialized, she talked, she laughed, she smiled – she was Hyuuga Hinata.

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><p><em>.<em>

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I'm very very proud of this, actually, surprisingly. It was, to say the least, a little personal to me, and I felt like it was important, thus the story based upon it.

**Tell me your thoughts!**


	11. this is how to shine

A Drabble!Series

**Disclaimer: **not mine

_Dedication: _to everyone, and anyone, who has ever felt fear and confinement, ever felt used, ever felt invisible, ever felt anything but normal.

_spi ral_

**By: _Just Lovely._**

11.

this is how to shine

Hinata felt good, she felt like gold but price-less, because this feeling, this euphoria, was hers and hers alone..

"I don't just feel okay Naruto; I feel good, I feel great." she smiled radiantly at him, "Thank you."

Courage built up in her body and she knotted her hands around his neck, pressing herself closer and instinctively, his arms circled her waist.

From the first time Naruto had met Hinata, she never did hugs, never did contact; and it was a change.

He kissed the top of her head, feeling her body relax against his and let himself enjoy the ever-lasting moment.

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><p><em>.<em>

_._

_._

I'm very very proud of this, actually, surprisingly. It was, to say the least, a little personal to me, and I felt like it was important, thus the story based upon it.

**Tell me your thoughts!**


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